WATERLOO - One of John and Elizabeth Edwards' biggest supporters in the Cedar Valley said Saturday the couple and their family will make it through the hurt of John's marital infidelity - and may already be doing so.

"Obviously, he's not the first man to 'stray from the nest,'" Joy Lowe said of the former Democrat presidential candidate and North Carolina U.S. senator. "They worked through the death of a son, and her (Elizabeth) being ill. I'm certain they already have worked this out and are moving on."

The Edwardses personally befriended Lowe and her late husband Russ when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2006 and passed away late in 2007. The Lowes had backed John Edwards through his 2004 and 2008 presidential runs.

Lowe noted that John Edwards had already confessed his 2006 affair with a campaign worker to his ailing wife long before he publicly acknowledged it Friday, and that Elizabeth had he encouraged him to proceed with his 2008 presidential run anyway.

Lowe said she, naturally, was shocked. "I just didn't know what to say. I just sat looking at it (the television). Because he's such a family person. And he still is. And I liked what she said, which tells me that I think she has forgiven him and they're moving on. She still urged him to continue with the campaign.

"I'm pretty sure that, as a strong family, they'll work through this. It must have been devastating for his wife, but being the strong woman that she is, they've been though a lot and I'm sure that they'll work through this. Your heart goes out to their family. "

The Lowes were longtime Waterloo educators and Democrat and NAACP community activists. They played a significant role in exposing and ending housing discrimination in Waterloo.

Elizabeth Edwards called the Lowes upon hearing of Russ' cancer diagnosis and sent Joy a copy of her book, "Saving Graces," about Elizabeth's own cancer struggle. Even with Russ' illness, the Lowes attended campaign rallies and met with John Edwards during the campaign prior to the January Iowa Caucuses.

When Russ passed away last September at age 85, the Edwardses offered personal condolences to Joy, and Elizabeth Edwards paid tribute to Russ in a Waterloo campaign appearance less than two weeks after his death.

Contrary to Lowe, some party loyalists elsewhere in the state had harsh words Friday for the former North Carolina senator.

"I feel betrayed, and I feel disappointed," said Mary Edwards of Davenport. "I just took the bumper sticker off the car."

"My first reaction is I'm very disappointed," said Rob Tully, a Des Moines lawyer who co-chaired Edwards' campaign in Iowa. "Having said that, my own faith reminds me that everybody's human."

Bev Strayhall, a Davenport supporter, also expressed dismay. She said it's always hard to know whether a person's public face tells the whole story.

"I think you never really know," she said Friday while watching news coverage.

Former U.S. Rep. and state party chairman Dave Nagle of Cedar Falls, who was neutral in the 2008 race, said he would be more forgiving of Edwards if he hadn't brought his family on the campaign trail. And he thinks other Iowans will feel the same way.

"They're going to resent the way he campaigned with her," he said.

Not all feel that way, however. Jerry Messer, president of the Quad-City Federation of Labor and an Edwards supporter this year, said, "His personal life is none of my business. That's between him and Elizabeth."

Whatever their feelings about the affair, Edwards backers said that Friday's news doesn't make them regret supporting his candidacy.

"It has nothing to do with his policies, nothing to do with his vision. It has to do with a personal foible," Tully said.

"What he stands for is what I believe in," Mary Edwards said, such as universal health care.

"He was sincere," she said. Now, she said, "He's made it that much harder to continue his life's work."

Edwards had been scheduled to appear at a poverty conference in Iowa in June, which was postponed when flooding hit the state. It has been rescheduled to Sept. 16.

"We don't know at this point if Sen. Edwards will be making changes to his schedule going forward," Troy Price, a spokesman for Gov. Chet Culver, said.

Contact Pat Kinney at (319) 291-1426 or Pat.Kinney@wcfcourier.com